Prosecutor Personnel Committee Meeting Today... 'Deputy Chief and Chief Prosecutor Personnel' Likely Announced on the 27th

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office '1st to 4th Deputy Chief Prosecutors' Personnel Focus
Judicial Research and Training Institute 32nd Class Prospects... Park Seunghwan, Lee Heedong, Jo Sangwon, Eom Heejun Mentioned

The Prosecutor's Office Personnel Committee, which will discuss mid-level executive personnel appointments at the level of deputy chief prosecutors and senior prosecutors, will be held on the afternoon of the 24th. Depending on the personnel proposals discussed at the committee, promotion and transfer announcements are expected to be made soon.

Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

On the 24th, there is a prevailing expectation inside and outside the prosecution that the mid-level executive personnel appointments, effective from the 3rd of next month, will be announced on the 27th. The Ministry of Justice conducted a recruitment process for some positions until last week and obtained consent forms for personnel verification from candidates for promotion to deputy chief prosecutor.

Attention is first focused on the appointment of the deputy chief prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Currently, under the first deputy chief prosecutor, the Criminal Division 1 is investigating sensitive cases such as allegations of luxury handbag acceptance involving Kim Geon-hee, the wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol, allegations related to the Taj Mahal tour on the presidential aircraft involving Kim Jung-sook, the wife of former President Moon Jae-in, and allegations concerning swimming lessons for security personnel.

Under the third deputy chief prosecutor, an investigation is ongoing into the 2018 Ulsan mayoral election interference allegations. Key suspects include Cho Kuk, former Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs and leader of the People’s Party for Innovation, and Lim Jong-seok, former Chief of Staff at the Blue House.

Under the fourth deputy chief prosecutor, there are numerous longstanding cases, including the presidential election interference and public opinion manipulation allegations investigated by the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1, the stock price manipulation allegations involving Kim Geon-hee related to Deutsch Motors under the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2, and the Democratic Party leadership election cash envelope scandal.

Additionally, there is speculation that Lee Chang-soo, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, may transfer the investigation of Seo, the son-in-law of former President Moon Jae-in, regarding preferential hiring at Thai Starjet, which was being investigated by the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office, to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

For this reason, it is anticipated that a planning expert will be appointed as the first deputy chief prosecutor and a special investigation expert as the fourth deputy chief prosecutor to swiftly conclude these high-profile cases that have drawn significant attention. The first and second deputy chief prosecutors oversee criminal divisions, the third deputy chief prosecutor handles election, labor, and other public security cases, and the fourth deputy chief prosecutor leads special investigations involving politicians and corporate corruption.

Park Seung-hwan, head of the Ministry of Justice Policy Planning Division (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 32), is mentioned as a candidate for the first deputy chief prosecutor. During his time as a junior prosecutor, Park worked in the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Planning Division and served as the public relations officer for the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office from 2022 to 2023. He is regarded as a leading planning expert within the prosecution.

For the third deputy chief prosecutor, Lee Hee-dong, a public security expert and the Public Security Planning Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (class 32), whose career includes serving as head of the Public Security Division at Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, head of the Public Security 2 Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (Election Investigation Support Division), head of the Public Investigation Division at Incheon District Prosecutors' Office, and head of Public Investigation Division 1 at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, is being considered. Lee was demoted in 2019 while leading the investigation into the Ulsan mayoral election interference case as head of the Public Security 2 Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

For the fourth deputy chief prosecutor, candidates include Cho Sang-won, second deputy chief prosecutor at Daegu District Prosecutors' Office (class 32), who worked closely with Prosecutor Lee and investigated allegations of donations to Seongnam FC by Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, and Eom Hee-jun, Anti-Corruption Investigation Planning Officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (class 32), who investigated corruption allegations related to the Wirye and Daejang-dong development projects as head of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1.